Azamara Quest 01/05/2008-01/19/2008 Review

[greeneg]

Azamara Quest Review January 05-19, 2008

 

Introduction: Well, after being home for a week and having some time to think and get a little more caught up with life in the Real World, here goes my review of this cruise.

 

Basics: We were 7065, a 1A Verandah Stateroom. Most of our cruising has been on Celebrity Ships and we are Elite Level in the Captain's Club. This time, we elected to have Azamara do the complete travel arrangements since we wanted to arrive and depart from Ft. Lauderdale and wanted a non-stop flight from Charlotte. I think that it actually cost me less than $20US to have Azamara do it all including the transfers to and from the ship. All of the arrangements worked well and were essentially hassle free. I had printed our boarding passes for the Quest prior to leaving Charlotte and we were on-board in time to drop our luggage, have a leisurely lunch, and get acquainted with the ship prior to sailing. Our role call group did have a sail-away getogether and it was great to meet everyone.

 

Positives

 

The Ship: We found the Quest to be a pleasure. Everything that we saw worked properly with the possible exception of one of the whirlpools on the pool deck. Crew were working on this early in the cruise and it seemed to be fine for most of the trip. I personally liked the decor and the smaller size of the ship, which made essentially everything easily accessible. We rarely used the elevators, preferring to walk the stairs where possible. It appears that many of our fellow passengers took this option as the few times that we did use the elevators they did not seem crowded and there was very little wait. I would describe our cabin as compact, but very well laid-out and nicely furnished. The bedding was very comfortable; we did ask for a foam-contour pillow and that appeared promptly. One annoying detail in the cabin was that there was a blue light on the flat screen Samsung TV that could not be turned off (I suspect that the Samsung remote would have provided that option but Azamara uses a remote that only works on the ship and does not have a "Settings" feature). We took the easiest option and covered the set with a beach towel at night. The tiny bath and shower worked fine (I particularly like the Grohe shower that was installed); sitting sideways on the toilet was different, but I got used to it..... Overall, a nice comfortable cabin.

 

Crew: The Quest's Captain, Emmanouil Alevropulos, has done an outstanding job of leading his management team. His officers and crew reflect his commitment to making the Azamara Experience most pleasant and memorable. The crew is clearly committed to trying to give the very best service that they possibly can and go out of their way to try and meet any request. The Quest feels like a happy, well-administered ship and everyone on the team reflected this attitude. Five stars in this area in my opinion.

 

Food Services: I certainly didn't lose any weight, despite my efforts on the steps. We ate in all of the available venues except Prime C (we ate in Aqualina twice). Breakfast and lunch were usually done in the Windows Cafe; the eggs, waffles and accompaniments were very well prepared and tasty for breakfast. Pizza, salads (particularly the seafood salads), and the fare at the Pool Grill were all excellent at lunch. We did not eat lunch in Discoveries, there is a limit to what one can hold. In fact, we ate in Breeza several nights in an attempt to be more in control; the stir-frys were wonderful as was the sushi and salads. There are some advantages to not eating four course meals every night for two weeks. It was also very pleasant to sit on the open deck and watch the stars roll-bye overhead. Overall: I thought the food and the service was excellent, well up to Celebrity's Standards, and possibly superior.

 

 

Smoking Policy: I have to comment on how much more pleasant the cruise was without the ever-present odor and cloud of tobacco smoke throughout the ship. Smoking was restricted to two areas: the Forward Starboard side of the Pool Deck and the After Port Side of the Looking Glass Lounge on the same deck. The rest of the ship was smoke-free, including all of the cabins and verandahs. What a difference! My wife and I were actually able to go into the Casino and indulge a little, something that we pretty much could not do on our other trips because of the smoke. Early in the cruise, someone was smoking a cigar on the pool deck which tended to wipe out the entire Starboard Side. Someone must have said something because it didn’t happen again, cigarettes only after that to the best of my knowledge. Azamara is to be commended for making and apparently enforcing this change. A strong thumbs up from me here!

 

Things that Need Work/Improvement

 

 

Itinerary: I was initially very excited about this particular itinerary. Of the nine ports that the ship visited, only one was a port, which we had visited before, St; Johns, USVI. After having complete the cruise, I have to say that tweaking is needed. My specific port comments:

 

Mayaguez, PR: Lovely little town, very little to see or do.

 

Ponce, PR: Lovely city, has an excellent smaller art museum, did not see much else.

 

St. Johns, USVI: St. Johns remains timeless and remains wonderful with great snorkeling.

 

Falmouth, Antigua: Interesting new port. Did a private tour with Rodney here and enjoyed it very much. The ship’s excursion was 3X the price.

 

Cabrits, Dominica: Lovely setting, very little to do in Cabrits that we say. Again, thought that the Excursion was pricy.

 

Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe: This was to have been one of the high points of the cruise for me as I speak French and am an avowed Francophile. Unfortunately, this was a Sunday and Guadeloupe ( as well as Metropolitan France of which it is a part) tends to close down on Sunday. The only things that I saw that were open beside the dockside vendors was a pharmacy, and the Church. I consider this bad planning on the part of whoever planned the itinerary. Needs to be fixed.

 

Gustavia, St. Barts: Also part of the French West Indies. Pretty little port, lots of BIG, BIG, yachts. A tee shirt reading “St. Barts” was 35 Euros ($51.39) Enough said.

 

Cayo Levantado, DR: listed as one of the premier snorkeling and whale watching sites in the Caribbean. Beautiful area. Had booked a Cat Snorkel, not realizing that Tropical Storm Olga had dumped a lot of fresh water run off into Samana Bay and that there was essentially no visibility. No one could have helped the morning clouds and showers, but there should have been an option to cancel the pre-booked excursion because of the known poor visibility in the water. The port itself is actually a private island, similar to those used by other cruise lines, with a great beach and nice amenities. No whale watching was offered.

 

Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos: Excellent snorkeling with the clearest water I have seen in a while. Nice amenities and beach thanks to CCL who, I was told, built them.

 

 

Captain’s Club amenities/Perks: Non-existent. Except for the infamous Coupon Booklet, there are really no Captain’s Club perks at all. No priority tendering, No Departure Lounge, NADA.

 

I really think, at a minimum, Azamara/Celebrity needs to do something like free, unlimited Internet Access or create some other means to recognize Captain’s Club membership. Otherwise, why bother? And if there are in fact, not going to be any incentives, then at least don’t advertise things that do not exist. ( Example, the non-existent Departure Lounge.)

 

Bar, Wine Charges: I thought that these were obscene. While cruising, I do enjoy a drink in the evening or a glass of wine with dinner, or both. I do not enjoy paying $12-15 for a $5 glass of wine and having 18.5% added to that as a “gratuity”. Maker’s Mark is a bourbon that I have always considered to be one of the Great Values in the Whisky market; but, not at $9.50 a shot, PLUS the 18.5%…….Net result, we essentially didn’t drink on the cruise because I found the pricing and mark-up of the product to be insulting.

 

Gratuities: This, for me, turns out to be a fairly major problem. Not because of the amounts but because these are fixed and unchangeable. I have no problem with the giving of gratuities for good service (and the service on the ship was outstanding) and I have no problem with adding the gratuities to my shipboard account. Where I have a problem is when I have no options at all where the gratuities are concerned. This, in my opinion, ceases to meet the definition of a gratuity and becomes a service charge. Azamara’s gratuities are already higher than Celebrity’s; to make them as fixed charges is something that I find offensive. I would prefer to have Azamara raise the fare by that amount up front and simply state that gratuities are included. This would be a better solution as opposed to what is being done at present.

 

Butler: Like the Gratuity question, this is a title that implies something that it really isn’t. We had excellent service from our Butler, Vasio, just as we have had from our Cabin Stewards/Attendants on all of our previous cruises. There is nothing wrong with being a Cabin Attendant. Why not call something what it is? I think that it is a bit pretentious to use the term “Butler” in these circumstances and I think that it does imply something that it really isn’t.

 

Conclusion: An excellent two week cruise on a wonderful ship. There are areas where Azamara needs to improve and I almost question the wisdom of splitting Azamara away from Celebrity. I think that the areas where Azamara needs the most work ( Captain’s Club Benefits, Shore Excursions, Port Scheduling, pricing etc) are the very areas where Celebrity might well have been able to offer some expertise to avoid some of the above issues. I am encouraged to think that Azamara will get sufficient feedback about some of these questions to make improvements ( none of the are really hard to address) and that the Azamara Experience is only going to improve.

 

Will we sail with them again? Well, we already have the Journey booked for this Fall.

If there are specific questions or comments about our cruise, I will be happy to try and address them..

 

Ed Green

[Andy]

Hi Ed !

 

Thank you for another wonderful review. I am happy to hear that you had a great Cruise on Quest.

 

My comments have been very similar to yours. I agree that it would be nice if the TV's didnt have that annoying blue light. We also used a towel to cover it up. We had a Suite on our Quest sailing, so we did not have to deal with the small-ish bathroom and the oddly positioned toilets, but we had relatives in a 1A Balcony Cabin on Deck 7, and they had no problems with it at all. We also thought the Crew was wonderful, and very eager to please.

 

Don't get me started on Captains Club amenities :). As bad as they are on Celebrity, there is virtually nothing on Azamara. Sure, they have the coupon book (which is near worthless), and a few other things, but much improvement is needed. For a ship of that size, free internet for Elite Members would be a great place to start. As for Drink prices, many have said they are far too high, and it would be nice if Azamara revisited this, but I wouldnt hold my breath on that one ! .

 

As for the Butler ? I think its a pretty safe to say that anyone who has sailed Azamara, realizes the cabin attendant and the Butler are the same person. While I have read conflicting reports regarding Suites, when we were on Quest in October, the Butler and cabin attendant were the same person. I feel that Azamara would be more respected if they stopped marketing the Butler as an extra person. They should either add the person, and market it as they do, or simply drop the Butler idea.

 

Regarding itineraries, it seems that Azamara has taken a look into this. When Journey sails the Caribbean in 2009, many of the ports are different. I havent booked yet, but I will probably book Journey in the coming weeks.

 

Again, thanks for a wonderful review, and welcome home !

[greeneg]

Thanks, Andy, it's always good to go and good to come back.

 

I would agree that perhaps the simplest change that Azamara could make would be to give CC Elites unrestricted Internet access; this would be a worthwhile benefit and I think would encourage repeat cruisers as well as encourage more experienced Celebrity Cruisers to try Azamara.

 

My best evidence for the excessive pricing of drinks was looking around the Caberet Lounge each night before the shows and noticing how few passengers were ordering and how un-busy the bar staff were. I think that everyone expects to pay a little more on the ship, but I honestly think that the present price points are actually reducing sales. Certainly did reduce my consumption for me.....

 

Ed

[Minneapolis]

With liquor prices like that, I am going to have to make my own

"shore immersions" to the local bar.

 

I really can't complain though. Carrying beer/sprits has to be expensive for the ship. And if their prices keep me in port having a few at the local spots, then what's the worst I am going to complain about?

 

The fond memories, the unique beers, the fun, the almost missing the boat, the Turkish prison..

 

ah the memories..:cool:

[Taxguy7]

My wife and I enjoy sitting at a bar near the water and trying the lcal beer; even better if the area has two or more local beers. Smell the different smells and perhaps try a snack or even lunch. Unfortunately, our 24Nov cruise lacked some of this due to the ports, but we did our best, anyway.

 

The ship could safely carry many tons more than it has on board at any time, so transportation should not be a factor in the cost of beer, let alone the hard stuff.

[susiesan]

The price of drinks was one of my major beefs with Oceania. As a business person myself, I don't get why the cruiselines can't see that if they would lower the price of each drink one or two dollars they would sell so many more units making a far larger overall profit than individual unit profit. People do not like to feel like they are getting ripped off. It's not about whether we can or cannot afford it-it's the principal. I plan on having our cab stop at a liquor store enroute from the Miami airport to the pier to buy two bottles of wine to supplement the vodka in the mouthwash bottles that will be in the check-in luggage.

[Longboysfan]

Thanks, Andy, it's always good to go and good to come back.

 

I would agree that perhaps the simplest change that Azamara could make would be to give CC Elites unrestricted Internet access; this would be a worthwhile benefit and I think would encourage repeat cruisers as well as encourage more experienced Celebrity Cruisers to try Azamara.

 

My best evidence for the excessive pricing of drinks was looking around the Caberet Lounge each night before the shows and noticing how few passengers were ordering and how un-busy the bar staff were. I think that everyone expects to pay a little more on the ship, but I honestly think that the present price points are actually reducing sales. Certainly did reduce my consumption for me.....

 

Ed

 

They did not have any passangers like me there also. ;)

[greeneg]

I don't know, Tom, I don't think that you would have paid that price either...Might have been BYOB time, say what ?!

[Nutrioso]

I think it would be a good idea for Azamara to have house wines available. Lower price and probably increased wine sales. Penny

[cruzingduo]

we agree about BYOB. Up until last year we brought our own wine onboard and paid the corkage fee at dinner. Mostly on RCCL & Celebrity cruises the corkage fee was $15 or $20.

[makingpar]

Hi Ed,

 

Your review is "right on"....I particularly agree with your comment regarding tips.....I too believe that the $10.75 per person should be built into the cruise fare and "no tipping" policy instituted.....that truly is an "upscale feature". I also agree that the wine list was way overpriced, and I also felt "gouged" on the bar drinks. These 2 issues plus the very limited Captain Club perks should be addressed by Azamara. We too are booked again on the Quest and look forward to changes being made by the cruise line. We enjoyed meeting you and Gail and look forward to an other adventure. jack & sharon:eek:

[gillianrose]

I think that everyone expects to pay a little more on the ship, but I honestly think that the present price points are actually reducing sales.

 

Not everyone expects to pay more for drinks on a ship than on shore. In fact, since the cruise line does not pay duty for their liquor, I would expect the prices to be less than in a nice hotel bar. In fact, it was the rule that one could expect to pay less for drinks on ships than on shore.

 

We aren't old, but we've been cruising a long time, and drinks have gone way up in price, plus 15% gratuity is added to each and every drink, whether the service suggests it or not.

 

Frankly, we don't order many drinks on board anymore because of the inflated price of the drink/tip combo. Instead, we tend to stop for a drink ashore before heading back to the ship.

[susiesan]

If as many say the peeps at AZ are reading these boards maybe they will see how their business policy on drink pricing is inhibiting sales instead of encouraging them. Like the change to the alternative dining policy, they might lower the price of the drinks and have more sales. These prices are higher than Oceania's which were outrageous. But at least O doesn't have a policy prohibiting pax bringing on a small quantity of spirits. I will also imbibe at one of the ever present dockside taverns that are omnipresent around the world.

[the smithys]

THANKS

Greeneg I have just read your review of this ship and its politics and you have saved me a bunch of annoyance.... like everyone we love a bargain,

have a passion for high end cruising

when we saw the Quest doing its transatlantic cruise, I had a cabin on hold and have now cancelled while we search for that extra something being 30 times cruisers in our late 40.s

I have been looking at Azamara for some time but the overpriced drinks and over fixed & Forced Gratuities you mentioned would spoil a 15 day cruise especially as 6 days at sea would mean you where trapped to their overpriced drinks i was shocked at the prices you paid as mentioned Celebrity have always had higher prices than Royal Caribbean but Azamara exceeds all shocked pricing expectations..... I thought your review was extremely to the point and very useful and strongly urge others to read it too .......... looks like we will go back to Celebrity again or Royal Caribbean regards janice xxxxx

[Susan-M]

I agree that it was a very balanced review with great detail!

 

Since he gave it a 5 star rating (or I guess that would be 5 waves), booked another Azamara cruise while onboard, and described it as "An excellent two week cruise on a wonderful ship." I would look at it as "great". As to the problems that he mentions, hopefully Azamara will continue to make changes based on client feedback. :)

[greeneg]

Exactly right, Susan, we did enjoy the smaller ship atmosphere immensly, along with the excellent service, and great food. The shore excursion and itinerary planning areas need work, the only way that I know to make that happen is to make Azamara aware of it and then give them a chance to fix it. None of these are hard to fix, they just need to pay attention and do it. These may well be more Miami's problems rather than the ship's, anyway.

 

The drink pricing problem was easy to solve. While I do enjoy a whisky in the evening, or a glass of wine or beer with dinner, I can easily say no if I think that the price is outrageous. So I just "voted with my feet" and spent the money elsewhere. My comment in the review was intended to say to Azamara that you might be "cutting your nose to spite your face ", as the old saying goes.

 

We had a wonderful cruise and are looking forward to the Journey this Fall.

[TVZ]

Hi Ed,

Thanks for your review. We are on the Quest 3/15. Hope azamara gets the message about drink prices. So glad you enjoyed the cruise. we are looking forward to our cruise.

[Luckyladym]

THANKS

Greeneg I have just read your review of this ship and its politics and you have saved me a bunch of annoyance.... like everyone we love a bargain,

have a passion for high end cruising

when we saw the Quest doing its transatlantic cruise, I had a cabin on hold and have now cancelled while we search for that extra something being 30 times cruisers in our late 40.s

I have been looking at Azamara for some time but the overpriced drinks and over fixed & Forced Gratuities you mentioned would spoil a 15 day cruise especially as 6 days at sea would mean you where trapped to their overpriced drinks i was shocked at the prices you paid as mentioned Celebrity have always had higher prices than Royal Caribbean but Azamara exceeds all shocked pricing expectations..... I thought your review was extremely to the point and very useful and strongly urge others to read it too .......... looks like we will go back to Celebrity again or Royal Caribbean regards janice xxxxx

 

So sorry to hear that you have cancelled your cruise on Azamara. Once again, we are dealing with subjective opinions. My DH and I, and the 3 other couples traveling with us really thought that Quest l/5/08 was great. The men drank Martinis at the Specialty restaurants and thought that they were quite generous. The ones served in the dining room were also good sized, similar to those you find in the better restaurants on shore.

 

Our main criticism would be in the entertainment area and they surely will be improving that.

 

In MHO, Quest is definitely a step up from Celebrity (which we really enjoy) and 2 steps up from RCI.

Marilyn

[capegranny]

Just wanted to say that I agree with Ed's comments about ports and shore excursions. There just wasn't much to work with in some of the places (Port Antonio, Jamaica!!). Azamara must figure out itineraries where it can implement its advertised "in-depth" information about ports and give us more than bus rides to view points. Those who did some of the mroe 'active' excursions seemed to enjoy them (zip-lining, canopy walks, rafting), but for those of us who are not so inclined there often - not always, but often - wasn't much to do/see. I ditto remarks on Captain's Club and on drink prices!

[Cathy Maneri]

Now I'm not a big drinker, but I do know a good martini (thanks to the Millenium-class ships on Celebrtiy). Azamara needs do a better job with drinks.

 

RCL has a "Concierge Club" for Diamond and up members. I go to this facility before dinner. This is a fabulous free perk. I was just on the Liberty of the Seas and it was great. Nice canapes (hot and cold). Wine, beer and even Cosmos were available. The staff works very hard and were wonderful.

 

RCL also has "drinks of the day" at a very good price.

 

Celebrity doesn't have a "Concierge Club" but they have excellent drinks. The Martini and Champagne bars on all their ships are great. Even the Cova Cafe has great wine, ports and coffee drinks. The prices are a bit more, but the drinks are always mixed correctly and of good portion.

 

Azamara has to get it together. I was on the first sailing and the drinks were horrible. The bartenders did not know how to make a drink. I had the same martini in two bars and they were both made different. The glasses were the smallest martini glasses I've every seen. I also go to the Cova Cafe everyday and it was not like the Celebrity ships. If I had been on a 14-night cruise and not just a 2-night cruise, I would have been very upset.

 

I think we need to let them know that they must do better. We cruise to have a nice experience and we have no other choice but to use the bars on the ship.

 

I'm planning on a European cruise on the Quest in the future. I hope some things change by then, otherwise they won't see my seapass card that much on the ship.

[Luckyladym]

Now I'm not a big drinker, but I do know a good martini (thanks to the Millenium-class ships on Celebrtiy). Azamara needs do a better job with drinks.

 

RCL has a "Concierge Club" for Diamond and up members. I go to this facility before dinner. This is a fabulous free perk. I was just on the Liberty of the Seas and it was great. Nice canapes (hot and cold). Wine, beer and even Cosmos were available. The staff works very hard and were wonderful.

 

RCL also has "drinks of the day" at a very good price.

 

Celebrity doesn't have a "Concierge Club" but they have excellent drinks. The Martini and Champagne bars on all their ships are great. Even the Cova Cafe has great wine, ports and coffee drinks. The prices are a bit more, but the drinks are always mixed correctly and of good portion.

 

Azamara has to get it together. I was on the first sailing and the drinks were horrible. The bartenders did not know how to make a drink. I had the same martini in two bars and they were both made different. The glasses were the smallest martini glasses I've every seen. I also go to the Cova Cafe everyday and it was not like the Celebrity ships. If I had been on a 14-night cruise and not just a 2-night cruise, I would have been very upset.

 

I think we need to let them know that they must do better. We cruise to have a nice experience and we have no other choice but to use the bars on the ship.

 

I'm planning on a European cruise on the Quest in the future. I hope some things change by then, otherwise they won't see my seapass card that much on the ship.

 

There is quite obviously a vast difference on the Quest from the early sailings in October and the one we were on the first week in January. There is no question in our minds that this ship provides an exceptional experience....service is outstanding, as is the food in all venues...particularly the lunch buffet and the specialty restaurants. We found the drinks to be priced about the same as the fine restaurants in our town. It has been many years since drinks have been a "bargain" on cruise ships. This is definitely not a "luxury" ship....but it certainly can be called "deluxe."

 

The Concierge Lounge on RCI is so unique...and it would be nice if the Corporation would find a way to provide the same service for loyal passengers on all it's vessels....but until they do, we will just keep on hoping, and enjoying what all of them do offer.

 

For a small ship experience at a reasonable price, I don't think you can beat Azamara.

Marilyn

[Napi's Mom]

I think the new idea is to rid the cruise industry of the Elitist attitude, so that people who havn't sailed before will try it and enjoy it. But as long as people expect fabulous perks because they are past guests etc., it turns off the newcomers. I expect nothing than what the cruise ticket says, and expect that ALL passengers that pay like amounts should have like service. Azamara was very good at treating their passengers equally nicely. I can't speak about drinks as we don't to any extent. Few passengers went to the Coffee venue as the Windows Cafe had a great coffee machine that produced good Cappachino Espresso etc...for FREE.

[bububr]

And I agree !00% with almost all of your comments.

 

The Quest is a magnificant small ship, and I'd love to sail more often on her or Journey, however the LONG itineraries will prevent us from doing this. While there are a few 12 nighters, 2 weeks is about all the time I can be away.....

 

I also noticed that they have cancelled their world cruises......and the increasing amount they are giving as cabin credits.

 

Could it maybe be that they have out priced and mismanaged their planning?

 

Anyway.....

 

Dave:eek: